Ministries allowed bigger budgets as independent agencies have theirs slashed

The Cabinet endorsed the Budget Bureau’s decision to allocate Bt480 billion to the Education Ministry, Bt27 billion more than the budget for the current fiscal year, which wraps up at the end of September, according to a source who attended the weekly Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

The Interior Ministry got Bt320 billion, Bt20 billion more; the Public Health Ministry got Bt100 billion, Bt6.4 billion more; the PM’s Office got Bt31 billion, up by Bt6.2 billion; the Defence Ministry Bt184 billion, up by Bt4.2 billion; and the Finance Ministry Bt229 billion, up by Bt4.2 billion.

Very few ministries were granted less than what they were given for this fiscal year. These included Ministry of Tourism and Sport, which was given Bt9.3 billion, down by Bt3.5 billion; the Labour Ministry, which will get Bt33 billion, Bt2.9 billion less; and the Social Development and Human Security Ministry, which was allocated Bt10 billion, down by Bt63 million.

However, the Budget Bureau slashed the funding for most independent agencies, with many getting less than half of what they requested.

These include the Constitutional Court, which sought Bt294 million but was allocated Bt180 million; the Courts of Justice, which wanted Bt26 billion but got Bt14 billion; and the Election Commission, which sought Bt7.2 billion but was given Bt3.1 billion.

The Ombudsman’s Office was allocated only Bt233 million, compared to the Bt650 million it wanted. The National Human Rights Commission asked for Bt413 million but was given Bt214 million. The Office of the Auditor General was allocated Bt1.6 billion, much lower than Bt3.1 billion it requested.

These independent agencies are key to the country’s checks-and-balances and are viewed by political observers as playing the scrutiny role on the administration.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet has also approved the request to increase the budget for the construction of a new Parliament complex in Bangkok’s riverside Kiak Kai area.

Suwichag Nakwatcharachai, secretary-general of the House of Representatives, said yesterday that the Cabinet okayed the budget just in time for the signing of a contract between the Parliament and the contractor, Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction. The project will require Bt12.2 billion, up from the Bt11.7 billion earlier proposed.